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Curse Upon A Prayer – Rotten Tongues

Inverse Records, 2015

9/10 – Susanne Sinmara

Melodic, incredibly catchy Black Metal from Finland – this is CURSE UPON A PRAYER in a nutshell. The band have only formed in 2010, and Rotten Tongues is their second album already. From the first song onwards, The Distant Chaos, to the last song, White Ghost, the band has the great ability to write songs that don’t just stick, they have drive and bring enough variation into the mix to not make it boring – and it doesn’t feel forced, it just works.

There’s the odd sample, there’s some gothic undertones – notably on the slow to mid-tempo song Devil On The Churchyard. There’s plenty of fast black metal too, and because of the relatively short length of the songs – most of them are around the 4 minute mark – it feels over too soon when it’s finished, and you hit the repeat button.

Yes, some of it sounds maybe a little bit too refined and polished, and if you like your Black Metal raw and dirty this may not be the album for you, but if you’re into good, entertaining melodic Black Metal, this album is for you.